After Wednesday afternoon’s practice in Los Angeles ahead of their games against the Kings, Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet met with the media with an update on defenceman Derek Forbort and Dakota Joshua:
Derek Forbort is our week-to-week and Dakota Joshua is unlikely to play tomorrow against the Kings according to Tocchet #Canucks
— Harman Dayal (@harmandayal2) November 6, 2024
The 6’4″ defenceman got tangled up in practice on Monday and was later evaluated for an injury. Come Tuesday, Forbort remained off the practice ice, with Tocchet saying he was getting evaluated for the second straight day. Now on Wednesday, it sounds like we have a rough timeline for Forbort’s absence.
“Week-to-week right now,” Tocchet said about his ailing defenceman.
Forbort, 32, has suited up in just four games for the Canucks, registering one assist, two penalty minutes, three shots on goal with a minus-two rating in 16:30 minutes of ice time. He signed a one-year deal, $1.5 million contract with the Canucks over the summer.
There had been speculation over the past week that tomorrow’s game against the Kings would be the target game for a Dakota Joshua return. However, that doesn’t look to be the case, according to Tocchet.
“Probably not, no,” Tocchet said when asked if there was any chance Joshua would be available tomorrow against the Kings.
Tocchet later goes on to add that while Joshua was not practicing today or playing tomorrow, he did not suffer any setbacks. The Canucks are being cautious with him, and this had been a scheduled practice day for Joshua.
Joshua released a statement before training camp that he underwent successful testicular cancer removal surgery this past offseason. He is still recovering and has yet to make his season debut; however, slowly easing him back into practice and game shape is seemly the route Joshua and the Canucks are taking.
The 6’3″ forward is coming off a career year, posting 18 goals and 32 points in 63 games with a plus-19 rating. Joshua’s efforts earned him a four-year, $13 million contract extension that pays him $3.25 million annually.
Erik Brännström will fill in on the left-side third-pair defence until Forbort is ready to return while we patiently wait for Joshua to make his season debut.
